Shortly after the first commercial radio broadcast in 1920, the medium's popularity exploded and the number of stations on the dial grew tremendously. By 1930, however, a mere 10 years after the first radio broadcast occurred, the industry was dominated by large, commercial stations who sold advertising time in a variety of forms and were operated…

In the United States the use of wireless radio initially was unregulated-anyone could operate a radio transmitter anywhere, at any time, on any wavelength. And most utilized the longwave signals that traveled so well across land and sea. Naturally, severe interference occurred with everyone trying to use the same wavelengths. Eventually it was…

This analysis of government regulation of America's broadcast service provides: (1) a historical view of radio and television regulation, including the doctrines of scarcity and public trustee and other areas affected by deregulation in particular; (2) an analysis of the argument for deregulation; and (3) an assessment of the First Amendment, the…